How many of you hot wash and sterilise your seed trays or pots, I don't, I will give them a quick rinse with a hose or a wipe with a cloth and have not experienced any problems, do you think it is necessary?

By popular request , let's I-SPY Stuff/Objects/Things/Whathaveyou. 
By the time we've reached Z it'll be nearly spring.

Two years ago I along with my grandsons cleared a small bit of ground in a field that has been left to go wild, but unfortunately we couldn't do any work on it last year, but hopefully we should be able to work on it this year, but having a look at it the other day it has reverted back to a wild field again, so looking for ideas on how to clean it out again, I would like to go no dig, but I don't have sufficient home made compost for that to work and no access to barrow in anything like manure, but there is a lot of dead wood from hedge cuttings near by and I could get my shredder into the field, so do you think that would work or would I just be wasting my time

We've been thinking about doing the chicken thing for about a decade now (!) and one of the sticking points was having someone to keep an eye on them when we were way. But as going away no longer seems to be a thing, our neighbour no longer works away during the week and we have a couple of other friends in the village all who will exchange chook checking for eggs, it would appear that the time has come to think more seriously.

However MrPP needs some persuading ...

Honestly, what are the pros and cons? Especially the cons. Costs - how much do they eat, diseases, predation (we're surrounded by woods and see foxes and martens even in broad daylight). Are they more trouble than they're worth? They would probably be in a small run/hen house within a larger enclosure for when we're around, rather than roaming free. Our other neighbour was a small scale commercial free range egg producer, and kept a dog in with the hens to keep the foxes away, so this concerns me greatly.

And I'd like to combine young birds with re-hoaming battery hens.

With respect to the vegetarian members, I'm also pondering birds for the table as well as layers. Perhaps a Christmas goose?

Thanks as ever

So what’s everyone’s gardening plan for this year?
What’s on your grow list? Anything new ?
Doing anything different?

This year my plan is to only have 2 raised beds in action & 2 tunnels (1 of them not full). 
I’m growing 

Runner beans
Dwarf french bean
Scarlets mystery climbing bean mix
Kale 
Red cabbage 
Broccoli 
Courgette 
Tromboncino 
Vegetable spaghetti 
4 tomatoes 
30 Chillies ( varieties, not plants )
4 sweet pepper 
Aubergine Kermit 
Cucumber 
Lettuce 
Salad mixes 
Plus my perennials ( asparagus, rhubarb, fruit & herbs )

A couple of tomatoes, sweet peppers, chillies & Kermit are new to me this year. 

I’m hoping to store a lot more this year, freeze or dried.

(19-12-2020, 09:59 PM)Veggie Wrote: Remember this? Flowers you're growing or intend to grow with names beginning with E. 

Following on from Admin's You Tube channel thread (which appears to have died a death?) I have decided I need to drag myself, kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.

With the ability to upload to You Tube I need to look at purchasing a budget video-cam.

How much am I looking at price-wise? What do I need to be looking for to video a 5 to 10 minute video? Is it a case of pressing a button (don't want anything too complicated).
I like the idea of the little screen at the side of the vid cam to see what you are videoing.

Do all cams have sound enabled so people can here my dulcet tones while I am filming?

That's enough questions to begin with, any comments and recommendations would be appreciated.

Ta muchly.

This is part autobiography (a very small part) and part history of historical orchard trees as he discusses the 2500 trees he has planted in his new orchard at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Great Milton, Oxfordshire. The book was of interest to me partly because I used to be a cook and have eaten at Le Manoir, and partly because I used to live in the area. He discusses the merits of the fruit for eating and cooking and how easy they are to grow. The trees are mostly historic British trees, with some French varieties that have special meaning to Raymond Blanc and his childhood.
Most of the book is taken up with a history of the specific varieties planted and unless you're a real apple tree buff (and it is mostly apples) it can be quite heavy going, but still fascinating for all that! 
The book also made me realise that my garden has loads more space for carefully trained trees, so I'll be looking to plant some of the very local varities we have down here in Bigorre.

I've taken nine photos of alliums and lookalikes in the garden today.

Can you identify them?
Please post your answers and lets see who would eat what and whether they would be wise to do so.

No prizes so don't even ask.

Ok, I know Veggie does this...and I obviously do occasionally but on other social media I'm seeing people start climbing French beans, squash and all sorts. I have got some bush Tom's going, o just had to start a couple of flowers. Really worried that I've wasted my salvia seeds as stuff grown too early and left inside can often lead to leggy weak seedlings.

I know it's only the cost of a few seeds - but I don't like wasting them if I have to buy them as the postage hikes up the costs. I've given up sowing lots more than I need as compost is precious to me at the moment too. I ran out of pots last year - I'm not going to garden centres. I'm also on a water meter - I've felt it's a waste to use all these resources on growing too many and wasting stuff on chancing my luck and then it going in the compost at the end.

I get that if you don't experiment you never learn - but climbing French beans now is madness or is it?

What early sowings have worked for you? How soon is too soon?